Global Scans · Design · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: Design thinking will increasingly play a key role in improving systems and customer experiences. Companies will re-learn their approach to innovation and embrace human-centred design principles. Designers will begin to apply knowledge of human interaction, specifically in the area of how we earn trust and respect, to AI systems.

• [New] To help scientists design more predictable circuits, researchers from MIT and Lincoln Laboratory developed a technique to measure a property that can unexpectedly cause a superconducting quantum circuit to deviate from its expected behaviour. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• [New] Using a new technique that can create vacancies at any site across a material and then shrink it to about 1/2,000 of its original volume, MIT researchers have designed nanotechnology devices that could be used for optical computing and other applications involving the manipulation of visible light. MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• [New] The Orion capsule will have an updated heat shield design that NASA says will reduce some of the risk involved in reentering the atmosphere. Scientific American
• [New] The Canvas cyber security incident should push schools to treat LMS security as identity security, API security, third-party risk, and continuity planning at the same time. Penligent Security Blog - AI-Driven Hacking Tutorials,
• [New] Retail brands scrape Instagram to predict fashion trends a season out. Scrap.io
• [New] Organizations including Deutsche Telekom, BBVA, Telefonica, Sophos, and Scalable Capital will gain access to models such as GPT-5.5 - Cyber with safeguards designed for defensive security work. MarketingProfs
• [New] The UAE has invested heavily in resilient infrastructure and digital systems designed to keep economic activity functioning even during external disruptions. Masdarcityfreezone.com
• [New] Sweden should co-finance and participate in a pilot auction for synthetic aviation fuel within the European Commission's e-SAF Early Movers Coalition, a double-sided auction designed to match producers with buyers and reduce investment risk. JD Supra
• [New] American Family Insurance has launched a branded reality competition series, Designed To Last, a first-of-its-kind show that reimagines how to think about protecting homes and families against increasing climate risk. Insurance Journal
• [New] If FDA clearance for continuous glucose monitoring arrives in the Apple Watch by late 2026 or early 2027, it could catalyse a reordering of the entire health wearables value chain - pulling payer reimbursement, physician prescribing behaviour, and enterprise health plan design into Apple's orbit. BUSINESS 2.0 NEWS
• [New] NEC will evaluate the radiation-hardened design for space environments of low-cost, high-performance commercial optical transceivers capable of enabling high-capacity transmission even on small satellites. NEC
• [New] Universal machine learning interatomic potentials aim to accelerate the materials design process by providing accurate stability and property predictions for a wide range of materials. Microsoft Research
• [New] The most effective recognition programs in 2026 are built around what might be called story architecture: the deliberate use of narrative structure - character, context, consequence - to frame every piece of recognition data. Rewardian
• [New] Defect-free finite element models still predicted the main shear-band pathways, indicating that the BCCT architecture primarily governed global failure, while manufacturing defects primarily served as local fracture-initiation sites. AZOM
• [New] Metro's next generation of trains will be designed to accommodate all customers - and all kinds of trips. WMATA
• [New] AI agents could eventually become the dominant users of software, fundamentally reshaping software architecture and competition. MarketingProfs
• [New] One standout story is Planview's launch of Agent Resource Management, designed to optimize human and AI resources in an era where Gartner predicts 40% of enterprise applications will leverage AI agents by 2027. Coaio Limited
• [New] Every AI agent acting on behalf of a user will eventually require a compliant wallet layer backed by genuine licensing infrastructure, user-controlled custody, and payment rails expressly designed for real-world transactions. The Fintech Times
• [New] Between 2026 and 2030, demand for powertrain domain control unit platforms is expected to accelerate as automakers deploy centralized vehicle architectures designed to reduce ECU complexity and improve software scalability. Morningstar, Inc.
• [New] We can expect many more creators to adopt generative AI methods in 2026 to make dialog and level design increasingly intelligent, realistic, and engaging. FunTimes Magazine
• [New] In 2026, AI-powered educational artifacts will be commonplace, and the good news is that AI tutors do not take holidays and, when designed responsibly, do not carry human biases. FunTimes Magazine
• [New] MR / VR headsets are projected to rebound in 2026 with the launch of new devices, though their appeal will remain largely limited to gamers and businesses focused on design, training, and collaboration. IDC: The premier global market intelligence company

Last updated: 18 May 2026